The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Vriesea plant, botanically known as Vriesea sp., hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name ‘SPARKLE’. The genus of Vriesea belongs to the Bromeliaceae family.
The new Vriesea cultivar is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by—the inventors, Elly Bak and Nico D. M. Steur, in Assendelft, The Netherlands. The objective of the breeding program is to develop a new Vriesea variety with good growing habit and attractive inflorescence.
The new Vriesea cultivar ‘SPARKLE’ originated from a cross-made in a controlled breeding program by the inventors in 1998 in Assendelft, The Netherlands. The female or seed parent is a Vriesea selection designated ‘89326’ (unpatented). The male or pollen parent is a Vriesea selection designated ‘85249’ (unpatented). ‘SPARKLE’ was discovered and selected by the inventors in May of 2002, as a single flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross in a controlled environment in Assendelft, The Netherlands.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar ‘SPARKLE’ performed by vegetative means by tissue culture was first performed in 2007, in Assendelft, The Netherlands. The first ‘SPARKLE’ plants propagated through the use of tissue culture flowered in 2009, in Assendelft, The Netherlands, and have demonstrated that the combination of characteristics as herein disclosed for the new cultivar are firmly fixed and retained through successive generations of asexual reproduction. The new cultivar reproduces true-to-type.